PA black bear!
 

Yesterday was a busy day. Up at 0530, and finished bagging sausage at 1130 last night.

Gotta start off thanking bronko2200. He invited me to his bear camp in North Central PA four years ago. Introduced me to some of the guys and showed me a good spot to hunt. Where he, and a few other camp members, have taken some bear in the past. I've made it over there three of the last four years, last year was a nasty winter storm so I didn't go over.

Due to my work schedule I could only hunt Saturday, but you can't get them staying at home. So, Friday morning I got home from work at 8am and took a two hour nap. Then got up, loaded up and started the 4 hour drive over to camp. I had a 45 minute delay due to a wreck on 80. Then had to stop and see the elk on the way by. Saw about thirty elk including allot of small bulls.




Made it to camp just before dark and got everything ready for Saturday. We had 7 guys and the cabin was pretty full. We had a good evening.

Saturday I started up the mountain right at daylight and went slow watching for bear. Found a nice spot to spend the morning and set up to wait there. Got the range finder out and ranged some logs, rocks, stumps, etc. I could see a long way down through the woods.




At 1030 I saw a bear trotting its way up through the woods. I thought to myself "you're going to get a bear!" It was farther away than I would have liked and I was hoping it would turn and come towards me, but it turned the other way and headed for some thick brushy briars. I figured if it got in there I'd never see it again. I found an opening in front of it, got rested off the tree in front of me, and sent one flying when the bear hit that opening. It immediately dropped, as I worked there bolt it jumped up and spun around several times biting at it's side. It jumped over a log and disappeared down the hill at a run. At this point I was worried that I didn't make a good hit.

I waited a few minutes and went down to where i shot it at. Immediately seeing good blood and feeling better about the shot. I climbed over the log and could see it piled up just below me. The shot was a little far back, but effective still.



Wasn't a big Bear, but I'm sure excited and happy.






They pull a tooth at the check station for aging and I should get an age back next summer some time. They did say it was an adult. Rolled her down the hill towards the road and met some of the guys from the camp to celebrate. Then I loaded up, headed to the check station then started the 4 hour drive home.

Got home, got it caped and butchered, then made a batch of sausage with the grind meat. Finished everything up a little after 11. Had some tender loins cooked up for dinner, and it was delicious with butter, salt and pepper. Have a roast going now and will try some sausage here shortly for breakfast.

Fun day!

-Jake

Well Jake all I can say is I'm happy for you. I'm glad at least one of us could make it up to my old "honey hole". I sat down below that spot all afternoon until dark and saw 2 doe sneaking down the side going past me at about 40 yards. But before that, about 3:00 two guys were talking to Bob at the bottom of Dry Hollow when a pick up pulled up in that parking spot. The 2 guys that came down from the hollow had dragged down one that Bob said went about 300 lb. They had shot it way up on top on the flats and had to drag it all the way to the truck - probably about 3/4 mile! I much prefer shooting them on the side hill. Much easier to get them down.
Was going to head back up today but we got almost 5" of heavy wet snow. It's melting fairly quickly so we'll be heading up tomorrow morning.
Congratulations again. I said I would only shoot a big one from now on but when that adrenaline kicks in you never know. And at that range that black makes them look much bigger, especially when they're moving. Next year, same time, same place?!?!

I sure hope to be back next year. Ohio's youth season sometimes lands on the PA bear Saturday. Our oldest is 7 so he's not quite ready yet but will be soon. So for a while I'll be missing the first Saturday so I can take the kids deer hunting but I'll still try to get up there to hunt maybe Monday and Tuesday those years. Just have to see what's going on. But next year I should still be good for Saturday.

I've heard some bad things about bear meat in the past. But I've had this three times already. Loins last night. Sausage this morning and a roast today at lunch. Several youth hunters and some others tried the roast and everyone liked it.

Maybe cause it's a young female. It's got good flavor and is tender.






The sausage is very good. The whole family enjoyed the sausage.

-Jake

Nothing at all wrong with bear meat. I make it the same way I'd make beef. A roast is really good in a pressure cooker with potatoes, carrots, onions and celery. Add a cup of beef bullion and cook for one hour.

I've decided to do a shoulder mount and have the skull done with beetles and whitened.

That way I'll still have the skull, and the mount.

I'm going to try to figure out how to get the claws off and save them. Might be able to do something decorative with them.

-Jake

Yep, we make the roasts just like we make beef roasts. Never ha any that wasn't good. If a bear is feeding at an open dump they can be rank but there aren't too many of those around today. Congrats.

Congratulations Jake! When I first saw the picture I was thinking how delicious that bear was going to taste. All the ones I have had the pleasure of eating were all delicious. I wish I had made some sausage out of the one I got a few years back, but will have to wait until I get my second. The first one only took me thirty five years to kill, LOL!

Well done! Any bear is a good bear. Unless I score this weekend, it'll be my first time since 2016 that I didn't get a NH bear.

Young bears make great eating, just cook it well. An Insta-Pot is the way to go here.